For various experimentation purposes it is necessary to decollate cells present in a cell composite. The state of the art offers different methods for this purpose. Among these methods are for example, the ultrasonic treatment of a cell composite according to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,939, multiple filtration through filters of different pore sizes according to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,409, the diminution or shredding of a cell composite according to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,190, or the shearing of a liquid sample with the cell composite by means of pipetting or a shear rotor according to the German patent DE 32 18 079.
The above named methods have different disadvantages. On the one hand, the cell composite present in the liquid sample is frequently overstressed by the energy applied for decollating. This leads to a destruction of the cells, and to a lengthening of the preparation method until intact decollated cells are available. The above disadvantage occurs precisely during mechanical decollating methods, as in the above named diminution device, or during pipetting of the liquid sample.
The shear rotor according to DE 32 18 079 has the disadvantage that a liquid sample with the cell composite is subjected everywhere to the same shear forces. In addition, the sample is moved due to turbulent flows within the shear rotor such that a uniform sample processing is not guaranteed.
Therefore, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a device and a method for decollating cells from a cell composite, with which, in comparison to the state of the art, samples can be processed more reliably.